When such a pulley device is manufactured, it is generally equipped with a screw, a threaded end of which is designed to penetrate a tapped orifice arranged in a support on which the tension roller is provided to be mounted. To the extent possible, an untimely separation should be avoided between the screw and the rest of the pulley device between the manufacturing moment of the device and the moment of its assembly on a support, in particular within an engine compartment of a motor vehicle.
To that end, it is known from DE-A-198 36 191 to provide, in a receiving housing of the screw, a circlip for axial retention of the stem of the screw, which slides along an outer peripheral groove arranged on the stem of the screw. One drawback of this approach relates to the holding of the circlip in the inner ring of the rolling bearing, which is not lasting. Thus, the circlip may be lost during use of the device. Another drawback of this prior art relates to its bulk. The head of the screw protrudes from the inner ring of the rolling bearing, which is not desirable during the use of the device in a densely occupied volume, such as the engine compartment of a modern motor vehicle.
In this respect, it is known, for example from WO-A-2010/006857 and EP-A-2,339,211, to provide a pulley device comprising a mounting support element, a screw and a retaining member. The mounting support element is equipped with a cavity, while the screw is provided with a groove. In the assembled configuration, the groove of the screw is axially across from the cavity of the mounting support member and the retaining member is jammed between the cavity and the groove.